Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto says his side’s historic Test wins in New Zealand and Australia have raised the team’s belief, and he hopes they can now achieve a similar result in South Africa.
MACKAY, Australia — Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto believes the team’s Test victories in New Zealand and Australia over the last five years represent major progress, and hopes Bangladesh can build on the Darwin success by producing another landmark result in South Africa. His comments came after Bangladesh suffered an innings-and-51-run defeat to Australia in the second Test in Mackay.
- Key Highlights:
- Shanto said Bangladesh’s wins in New Zealand and Australia were major milestones for the Test team.
- Bangladesh had beaten Australia by nine wickets in Darwin before losing the second Test by an innings and 51 runs.
- Shanto admitted the team did not play its best cricket in Mackay despite good preparation.
- The captain hopes Bangladesh can use the experience of Australia to achieve success in South Africa.
Shanto sees Darwin win as a major Test milestone
Australia’s victory in Mackay levelled the immediate momentum after Bangladesh’s remarkable nine-wicket win in the first Test in Darwin. The result in Darwin was particularly significant as Bangladesh were playing their first Test in Australia after 23 years.
It also came less than five years after Bangladesh’s memorable eight-wicket victory over New Zealand at Mount Maunganui in January 2022. Shanto said the team’s achievements in those conditions had taken on greater meaning after watching Australia’s response in the second Test.
“I don’t think anyone will forget what he have done in Darwin but it is also true that we didn’t play good cricket in this Test,” Shanto said. “When you look at how Australia played in Mackay, you realise exactly what type of team we defeated in Darwin.”
Shanto noted that Australia had chosen to bowl first at home in Darwin, a decision he said he had heard was uncommon for them. He said Australia’s strong comeback in Mackay underlined the challenge Bangladesh had posed in the opening Test.
Captain says Mackay defeat put Darwin result into perspective
Shanto said he had initially treated the Darwin victory as another Test win and did not feel overly excited immediately after the result. However, his perspective changed while watching the events of the second Test unfold from the Bangladesh dugout and slip cordon.
“I personally didn’t feel too excited after winning in Darwin. I initially treated this as just another Test win. I think when I was observing what has been happening in the last two days in Mackay, especially from the dugout or slip cordon, I have had the realisation what we have actually done. We won a good Test match in Darwin. It is a win to be proud of.”
He said Bangladesh now had two victories of significant magnitude away from home, having defeated New Zealand and Australia in their own conditions. Shanto said he hoped the side could repeat that kind of achievement in South Africa and use such experiences to strengthen the Test team.
Bangladesh struggled to reproduce Darwin performance
Shanto admitted there may have been an emotional effect following the victory in Darwin, although he maintained that Bangladesh were pleased with their preparation ahead of the Mackay Test. The players trained for a couple of days in the new conditions and immediately noticed that the practice pitches offered more bounce than those in Darwin.
Bangladesh, however, struggled with the conditions and their shot selection. Shanto said Australia had also found the wicket difficult during their first innings, but acknowledged that Bangladesh’s own batting was below the required standard.
“Emotion is always there, but as I said in the [pre-match] press conference, as a professional player we need to be very much clear about this Test match,” he said. “I believe the players were quite happy with their preparation and the mindset. We just didn’t play at our best.”
He said Bangladesh could have batted better in the second innings and accepted that, while the pitch was difficult, the team had also played poor shots. Shanto said he did not want to single out any individual and described the performance as a collective failure.
Emotional highs and lows remain a challenge
The contrast between Bangladesh’s performances in Darwin and Mackay again highlighted the team’s difficulty in maintaining consistency after major victories. A similar pattern followed the Mount Maunganui win in 2022, when New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by an innings in Christchurch.
Bangladesh also experienced mixed results after defeating Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia at home during the season. The team then struggled in Zimbabwe, losing the only Test and the ODI series before winning the T20I matches.
In Mackay, Tanzid Hasan, Mominul Haque and Shanto were unable to reproduce the form or approach that had worked in Darwin. The middle order also collapsed quickly, while Litton Das finished the Test series with three ducks and without scoring a run.
Shanto accepts responsibility for his own dismissal
Shanto said he was willing to take responsibility for his dismissal in the second innings after getting himself set. He said he should have remained at the crease longer but did not want to blame teammates for their own lapses in concentration.
“My dismissal, after getting set, isn’t acceptable, to be very honest,” he said. “I should have hung around for longer. I think we have tried really hard on this tour. We have to realise that we haven’t played in these conditions, against this type of bowling attack before. I think it’s important how we can use this experience in the future.”
The Bangladesh captain also backed Litton despite his difficult series. Shanto said Litton had produced strong innings recently and that he was not focusing only on the three ducks. He added that Litton’s role at No. 6 remained effective for Bangladesh and expressed confidence that the batter would return strongly in the next series.
For Shanto, the immediate challenge is ensuring that Bangladesh learn from the sharp contrast between Darwin and Mackay. He believes the victories in New Zealand and Australia have shown what the team can achieve in unfamiliar conditions, and hopes the next major step will come in South Africa.
Praveen Yadav is the Founder and Content Creator of The Nation Bulletin, an independent digital news platform focused on delivering timely, reliable and meaningful news from India and around the world.
